USC Trojans Injury Update: Jacobe Covington Listed 'Questionable' vs. Penn State

The depth of the USC Trojans cornerback room could be tested this week with starting redshirt senior cornerback Jacobe Covington officially listed as “questionable” for Saturdays matchup against the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions.

Nov 4, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans cornerback Jacobe Covington (14) carries the ball to score a touch down against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The depth of the USC Trojans cornerback room could be tested this week with starting redshirt senior cornerback Jacobe Covington officially listed as “questionable” for Saturdays matchup against the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions. 

“He’s been limited this week,” said USC coach Lincoln Riley. “Progressed a little bit faster than maybe we would have thought after the game. After the Minnesota game, I think we would have guessed it was a for sure no for this week. So kudos to him and the training staff for pushing it along.”

Nov 4, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans cornerback Jacobe Covington (14) carries the ball to score a touch down against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The senior cornerback was injured late in the fourth quarter last Saturday against the Golden Gophers while running down on punt coverage. He hobbled off the field, headed straight into the medical tent and was held out during the Gophers game-winning drive. Redshirt senior DeCarlos Nicholson replaced Covington for that final possession. 

Redshirt senior John Humphrey got the start in week two when starter Jaylin Smith was out and had been the third cornerback receiving most of the reps, but the Trojans ultimately went with Nicholson last Saturday. Humphrey did not receive any playing time against Minnesota. Riley also pointed to redshirt junior Prophet Brown as another player that could factor into the rotation. 

"Jaylin's flexibility gives us the opportunity to do some different things," Riley said. “We’ve got a number of bodies certainly that can jump in there and handle it and we've got some different options because of some of the versatility and pieces that we have."

Covington did return to the practice field on Wednesday after missing on Tuesday. The Arizona native has started all five games for the Trojans defense. He has registered 17 tackles, including one for loss and ranks second on the team in pass breakups with two. 

USC faces a tough challenge with Penn State coming to town. Although, the Nittany are a run first team with the No. 17 rushing offense in college football, they do have the ability to attack the Trojans secondary with junior quarterback Drew Allar. The former five-star quarterback has been efficient this season, completing 70.9 percent of his passes this season, vastly improved from his 59.9 completion percentage in 2023.

"He has one of the strongest arms," said USC coach D'Anton Lynn. "He definitely has the strongest arm of anyone we've played so far. He throws the ball really well, especially down the middle of the field. And for a bigger guy, he really does good job extending plays in the pocket. He's not a guy that's just going to sit in the pocket. We have to do a great job containing him, and we have to do a great job staying in coverage downfield."

Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) drops back in the pocket and looks to throw a pass during the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

USC will host Penn State on Saturday Oct. 12 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on CBS. It will be the first regular season meeting between the two programs since 2000. USC leads the series 6-4.

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